What's the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word Suzuki: the RM250 dirt bike! Or, even better, the Suzuki Hayabusa 1300cc sport bike! Yes, Suzuki is a car manufacturer, but the company traditionally hasn't had much to offer the sport-compact market that could get our hearts pumping-until now. Tuner had heard rumors about the Suzuki Aerio making its way to the States, and we're totally stoked that those rumors turned out to be right on. (This is the where you say, "What the hell is an Aerio?!")
For those who don't know, the Aerio is actually a car. Originally designed as a small five-person passenger car, the Aerio mimics the look of an extremely small minivan/SUV and is equipped with a 1.4-liter inline four for the Japan domestic market.
I could do this report as a Motor Trend-, Road & Track- or Automobile-style review, but fuck that! Tuner readers want to know what size wheels will fit under it, what kind of abuse the engine can take, how big can they go with brakes, what can be done to the stereo and, most importantly, can they wide-body the shit out of it?
The J-spec 1.5-liter engine is considered small, but it's perfect for the 1.5-liter racing classes in Japan. Japanese tuners started tweaking the vehicle to the point where the car became so popular it had its own race division. Now the car has made the trek overseas and will hit the U.S. highways. For a change, Suzuki unloaded a bigger-displacement, higher horsepower engine to the States. Yes, you heard me right. Japan is giving us the more powerful engine! All too often we pick up a Japanese magazine, flip through it and ask our Japanese friends to translate. For some reason or another, nearly all of Japan's carmakers-Nissan, Honda, Toyota or Mitsubishi-always give the home market the better end of the deal with high-horsepower powerplants. Every time we either get stuck with the smaller engine or the non-turbo model.
This time Suzuki dares to be different. Knowing the U.S. needs a model that is capable of producing decent horsepower, it delivered a 141-hp package on a car that weighs a mere 2,668 lb The engine is a 2.0-liter dohc, putting out a healthy 135 lb-ft of torque at an extremely low 3000 rpm.
While most of you are probably saying, "Damn, that's it?", remember, it's not like we plan on leaving it stock. If you read this magazine and drive a stock car you either just bought the car and plan on tweaking it or you subscribed to the wrong magazine-sorry, I don't have the phone number to Better Homes and Gardens.
Pop the hood and the first thing you'll notice is the very spacious area for upgrades galore. Adding a strut tower bar would be a piece of cake due to the low profile of the intake manifold and valvecover. Even with limited spacing between the engine and radiator, you will be pleased to know the there is still room for a header. Air intake spacing is plentiful since the O.E. airbox only fills most of the passenger's side of the engine bay. The most important feature dealing with the front of the car is the front bumper that screams "Intercooler!"-for that turbo you're going to stuff in. As far as a reliable upgraded fuel system goes, Suzuki stuck with the conventional feed/return line set-up to allow for additional fuel to be added mechanically (i.e., fuel regulators, injectors or even a bigger pump). The speed/density unit is a dead giveaway that an electronic fuel computer can be added. In terms of timing, the individual coils let us know a DIS amplifier can be added, but changing timing looks like it might have to be done through the ECU. You won't have to perform the normal timing-belt changes at 60,000 miles thanks to a zero-maintenance, self-adjusting, two-stage timing chain.
Although the O.E. Clarion stereo system is not bad, it is still just that-O.E. You will be pleased to know the double-din radio is just begging for a TV screen. Its location alone, high up in the dash, is as obvious as dog's balls. Trunk space allows for large sub or even a false floor since the factory spare is stored below the rear floor.
At first glance the Aerio looks to be top heavy, but its small size and light weight aid in getting it through the twisties quickly. And, with the torque available at such a low rpm, the Aerio accelerates just as fast.